Uh, Eve? Could you explain where the term "Apache dancer" came from? I clicked on the link and saw the couple dressed as Apache dancers, but they just looked like they were French. I always thought that Apache dancers were Native Americans performing a traditional dance. Obviously, I'm wrong and am now eager to shed my ignorance.

Uh, Eve? Could you explain where the term "Apache dancer" came from? I clicked on the link and saw the couple dressed as Apache dancers, but they just looked like they were French. I always thought that Apache dancers were Native Americans performing a traditional dance. Obviously, I'm wrong and am now eager to shed my ignorance.

"Apache" was used to refer to French street gangs in the 1900s (link.)

Quote:

The typical French Apache was a young, lower-class, pimp-type vagabond with connections to the underworld. An interesting by-product of this underground culture was "Apache dancing" -- a type of "street swing" which simulated actions and movements of urban violence, and actually contained combat techniques particular to the typical Apache's repertoire. This dance was reportedly so violent that participants sometimes died of injuries sustained from being thrown across bars, onto tables, or after being struck with mistimed blows.

A typical Apache dance might act out a fight between two lovers, blow by blow.

You need a load of garlic hanging around the neck, a beret, moustache and a bicycle with a wicker basket on the front for the authentic look.

Not garlic, onions. What you’re describing is the classic archetypal french onion seller. Here’s one.

The simple answer to the OP is that striped shirt, beret, etc was at one time a common outfit for a Frenchman, in particular the Bretons who came over here selling onions, and were therefore the Frenchmen that most people were most familiar with in person.

WotNot is correct. The striped shirt and beret was traditional attire in Britony. It was quite common, at least in south eastern England when I was young, for Breton onion sellers to travel around on bikes covered in strings of onions, plying their trade door-to-door. I think I last saw one in the early 70's.

Several months ago in a thread which dealt with the mutual intelligibility of certain European languages, there was at least one link to an article in a British paper profiling some Bretons who continue to sell onions via bicycle in England & Wales to this day.

I'm astounded by the economics of this. Surely onions grow in Britain... right? Are these special onions? Do they cost so much more than domestic onions that the trip across the Channel is at least self-financing? Is there such a glut in the French onion market that export becomes necessary? All a big mystery to me...

The flag was inventer in 1925 and have a feeling that stripes were worn before that date but doubt that the flag is based onthe shirt.

As for onions, my Grandfather remembers them from the 1950's when he worked on the railways in southern England, as they cycled from town to town selling onions and garlic. He said that they sold several varieties of each.

In a typical French supermarket you have a choice of maybe 6 types of onions and several types of garlic while I'm sure that it's less in the average market in the UK (at least it is in Ireland).

I prefer French garlic to the stuff I buy in Ireland. It's much sweeter and never have smalled cloves within the main clove.

I'm astounded by the economics of this. Surely onions grow in Britain... right? Are these special onions? Do they cost so much more than domestic onions that the trip across the Channel is at least self-financing? Is there such a glut in the French onion market that export becomes necessary? All a big mystery to me...

By all means check out this link from my earlier post, which answers some of your questions.

Bear in mind that this trade dates from the early years of the 20th century, when the vast majority of fruit and vegetables available in Britain were native and seasonal, and there was, naturally, considerably less variety – in contrast to today when almost any commodity from anywhere in the world is available year-round.

It was well worth it for the Bretons to make the short trip on the ferry across the channel to a market more than ready to pay a little more for good-quality produce not otherwise available. Bear in mind as well that there was a certain caché in buying from the French onion-seller, a touch of the cosmopolitan in the largely hum-drum life of the average housewife. Good marketing in other words.

There was a programme on BBC TV a few years ago about French onion sellers. It said that many growers are now going over to the production of asparagus , instead of onions. Apparently they can get more for this crop , it suits the sandy soil where they used to grow the onions and they don't have to go to all the expense of coming over to Britain to sell it .

WotNot is correct. The striped shirt and beret was traditional attire in Britony. It was quite common, at least in south eastern England when I was young, for Breton onion sellers to travel around on bikes covered in strings of onions, plying their trade door-to-door. I think I last saw one in the early 70's.

We still get them around here occasionally, but I think they now tend to wear the striped shirts because they are playing up to the stereotype, rather than some unbroken tradition.